1 Corinthians 2:7-8: “The wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—His plan that was previously hidden, even though He made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord.”
Have you heard the old adage that says, “Ignorance is bliss?” Well, the Lord doesn’t want His children to walk in darkness or spiritual ignorance, because it can cost us greatly. If we don’t know the ways of God, we might tend to think that only Satan is in control on the earth, and then lose all hope and faith in God—and that’s exactly what Satan is shooting for with his fiery darts.
If we, as the body of Christ, don’t know the ways of God, and we find ourselves in a “furnace situation,” it can leave us feeling all alone and vulnerable to Satan’s lies. The voice of Satan intensifies when we can’t hear God or know what His plans are when we face the furnace of affliction. To me, this is the definition of isolation, and the reason why many believers choose to give up in a heated battle over their faith. Satan will use our spiritual ignorance (of not knowing the ways of God) to lead us astray while he is pressing us with the threat of danger. Therefore, it’s essential that you and I know the truth that is contained in the Word of God and that we continually seek God’s face.
Paul gives us wonderful insights in his writings that allow us to understand and know the ways of God. What Satan doesn’t know, but we can know (through the Word of God), is that Satan is ignorant of the ways of God. Satan believes in his heart that he’s wiser in his ways than God is. If you will look at 1 Corinthians 2:7-8, Paul shows us how God used Satan’s ignorance against him to carry out the will of God to crucify the Lord of glory.
It’s important that we understand the previous statement. Satan will use our ignorance of God and His Word to deceive us, but God’s wisdom is greater than Satan. Let me put it this way; if Satan knew what he was really doing when he attacked you and me, he would leave us alone. How do we know this to be true? Just read Romans 8:28, where Paul is giving us the revelation that God has promised to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, that He will turn around the trials that were meant to bring evil to us and use them for our good.
Have you ever done something that seemed like the right thing to do, and it got you into a bunch of trouble? It was a trap of Satan, and it worked to a degree, because you thought you were doing the right thing—but suddenly you were in trouble. Generally, this is where we will call on the Lord and seek His face and His direction to lead us out in victory. As we do, through His wisdom, the Lord will begin to show us strategies that will conquer the enemy’s lies. When we come out of that trial with the victory, we become more like Christ through our faith. Then, guess what, God just used the ignorance of Satan, through our faith, to turn an evil situation into a glorious victory that grows us in our faith walk with the Lord. God didn’t set up our fall; it was our ignorance of the trap that set everything into motion—but, thankfully, God delivers us from all of our afflictions.
This is why God tells us to seek Him early—to call on Him, and He will answer us before we fall into the trap of ignorance. Isn’t our God amazing? The cross to natural eyes looked like Jesus’ defeat, but in the Spirit, it was the final act of God that sealed Satan’s defeat and brought us victory over our sin. WOW! —submitted by Asa, US
